Mr Hero, who tackled the knife-wielding man during the Southport mass stabbing of children, has strongly criticised the Prime Minister’s response to the violence that followed, saying the underlying problems of mass immigration are being ignored.
John Hayes, a businessman whose business is in the same building as the dance studio where 13 people, most of them children, were stabbed last Monday, three of them dead, was hailed as a hero in early reports for stepping between the knife-wielding man and his intended victims, and now he is speaking out for the first time while recovering from the fatal injuries he received in the attack.
Mr Hayes dismissed suggestions his actions were heroic, saying more could have been done to save lives, and expressed anguish at the harsh crackdown by Sir Keir Starmer’s British government on the violence that followed the shocking attack, saying underlying concerns about mass immigration were not being addressed.
“We need to address the causes, not the symptoms.”
John Hayes, who was injured tackling the Southport suspect, said: #R4Today He said he was “disappointed” with Keir Starmer’s response to the riots.
— BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) August 7, 2024
He told BBC Radio on Wednesday morning: “I’m not particularly politically motivated but I’m delighted that Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper have [how] Police will be dealing with these people to the fullest extent of the law.
“But they’re not actually talking about the root causes. They need to start listening and understanding. They need to address the causes, not the symptoms. Just putting these people in prison isn’t going to address the root issues.”
On these core issues, Hayes said: “There seems to have been a strong sense of dissatisfaction for a long time about immigration levels. [mass stabbing] I think it’s just a catalyst or trigger, not a root cause.”
The businessman, who last week put himself in danger to try to stop a mass stabbing, was adamant that he would not tolerate violence, but still said: “There are so many disgruntled people in this country right now who want something done and I don’t think this problem is going to go away until the government starts to address it.”
It is highly unusual in the UK for victims of a mass casualty attack to speak out so publicly against government policy so soon after the attack. The government has been Its keenly honed experience of shaping a single national narrative following mass casualty attacks or incidents of “community violence” may be a product of the David Cameron-era interest in behavioural science to shape public perceptions, behaviour and conformity without necessarily revealing that they are being manipulated.
The comment came in on the same day. A new poll shows Immigration is the most important policy area for British voters, with 51 people saying it is the “biggest issue facing the country”.
Police release names of child victims killed in mass stabbing attackhttps://t.co/KGI7tULA2N
—Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) July 30, 2024
Hayes recounted the moments during Monday’s stabbing that led to the deaths of 6-year-old Bebe King, 7-year-old Elsie Dot Stancomb and 9-year-old Alice DaSilva Aguiar. He said he was sitting in his office when he heard screaming and rose to investigate. After hearing a colleague yell that “there’s a girl bleeding outside,” Hayes ran out, only to be confronted by a man he says was holding a knife.
Hayes was stabbed in the thigh while trying to pull the knife away from the man, the wound “just barely missing” his femoral artery. He expressed his regret, saying, “I wish I was more Bruce Willis about it, but I wasn’t able to take the knife away from him. But I don’t think he would have hurt anyone else after that, and I think they were able to get all the kids out of the building, except for the ones who were locked in the bathroom with one of the yoga teachers. So at least I prevented him from doing any more harm.”
The suspect, 18-year-old Axel Rudakubana, whose birthday is today, was arrested last week and appeared in court on Thursday charged with three counts of murder. He was remanded in custody and is due to appear again in October.
British people unhappy with politicians’ response to post-stabbing riotshttps://t.co/MWkv2t1L24
—Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) August 7, 2024
